Profession rail construction supervisor

Rail construction supervisors monitor the construction and maintenance of railway infrastructure. They assign tasks, either on the ground or from a control room, and make quick decisions to resolve problems.

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Personality Type

• Enterprising / Realistic

Knowledge

• Work trains

  The composition and functions of a work train, a train composed of automatic machines that remove, inspect, adjust and lay railway ballast, sleepers and rails.

• Mechanical tools

  Understand machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.

• Mechanical systems

  Mechanical systems, including gears, engines, hydraulic and pneumatic systems. Their functions and likely defects.

Skills

• Keep records of work progress

  Maintain records of the progress of the work including time, defects, malfunctions, etc.

• React to events in time-critical environments

  Monitor the situation around you and anticipate. Be ready to take quick and appropriate action in case of unexpected events.

• Liaise with managers

  Liaise with managers of other departments ensuring effective service and communication, i.e. sales, planning, purchasing, trading, distribution and technical.

• Conduct quality control analysis

  Conduct inspections and tests of services, processes, or products to evaluate quality.

• Plan resource allocation

  Plan future needs of various resources such as time, money and specific process resources.

• Ensure equipment availability

  Ensure that the necessary equipment is provided, ready and available for use before start of procedures.

• Inspect construction supplies

  Check construction supplies for damage, moisture, loss or other problems before using the material.

• Plan shifts of employees

  Plans shifts of employees to ensure completion of all customer orders and satisfactory completion of the production plan.

• Work in a construction team

  Work as part of a team in a construction project. Communicate efficiently, sharing information with team members and reporting to supervisors. Follow instructions and adapt to changes in a flexible manner.

• Evaluate employees work

  Evaluate the need for labour for the work ahead. Evaluate the performance of the team of workers and inform superiors. Encourage and support the employees in learning, teach them techniques and check the application to ensure product quality and labour productivity.

• Manage health and safety standards

  Oversee all personnel and processes to comply with health, safety and hygiene standards. Communicate and support alignment of these requirements with the company's health and safety programmes.

• Use safety equipment in construction

  Use elements of protective clothing such as steel-tipped shoes, and gear such as protective goggles, in order to minimise risk of accidents in construction and to mitigate any injury if an accident does occur.

• Supervise staff

  Oversee the selection, training, performance and motivation of staff.

• Ensure compliance with construction project deadline

  Plan, schedule and monitor the building processes in order to ensure completion of the project by the set deadline.

• Follow health and safety procedures in construction

  Apply the relevant health and safety procedures in construction in order to prevent accidents, pollution and other risks.

• Secure working area

  Secure the operation site fixing boundaries, restricting access, placing signs and taking other measures in order to guarantee public and staff safety.

• Process incoming construction supplies

  Receive incoming construction supplies, handle the transaction and enter the supplies into any internal administration system.

• Monitor stock level

  Evaluate how much stock is used and determine what should be ordered.

• Coordinate construction activities

  Coordinate the activities of several construction workers or crews to make sure they do not interfere with each other and to ensure that the works are done in a timely manner. Keep up to date on the progress of the teams and update the schedule if called for.

Optional knowledge and skills

Source: Sisyphus ODB